Liquid-elevating wheel.



Patented lMay 2|, I90l,

- INVENTOR, IMI

ATTRNEYS s. s.- BmnsALL.

LIUlD ELEVATING WHEEL.

Application med Feb. 7, 1901.)

' (nu Model.)

WIT NESSES TN: nonms PETE co4. woraumo., wuumGToN, u4

UNITED STATES PATENT GEEICE.

BENJAMIN S'. BIRDSALL, OF BOWIE, LOUISIAA.

LIQUID-ELEVATING WHEEL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 674,396, dated May 21,1901.

Application filed February '7, 1901. Serial No. 46,350. (No model.)

To all wher/b it may. concer-71,:

Beit known that I, BENJAMIN S. BIRDSALL, a citizen of the United Statesof America, residing at Bowie, in the parish of Lafourche and State ofLouisiana, have invented certain new and useful` Improvements inLiquid-Elevating Wheels, of which the following is a specification,reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings, in which-Figure l. is a side elevation of my improved Wheel, partly in section;Fig. 2, a vertical transverse section thereof; and Figs. 3 and4,vertical sectional views taken, respectively, on the lines 3 and 4 ofFig. 2.

This invention has reference to that class of Water-elevators covered bymy former patent, No. 609,655, dated August 23, 1898, in which isemployed a Wheel provided with a series of scoops adapted tosuccessively dip up the Water as the Wheel is rotated and empty it in asubstantially continuous stream into a stationary-tube supportedconcentrically Within the wheel and extending laterally through anopening at one side of the wheel, so as to discharge the elevated Waterinto a spout at the side of the wheel.

The object of the present invention is to improve and simplify theconstruction of the apparatus by providing for more eiciently supportingthe Wheel and doing away with the heavy driving-shaft formerly employedand the heavy shaft-bearings, which in my former machine obstructed theoutlet ends of the discharge-tubes, as is more fully hereinafter setforth.

Referring to the drawings by letters, d designates thesupporting-frame,and b the wheel, which latter is constructed, asformerly, of a pair of sides or disks o, connected by the curvedelevating scoops d. The Wheel is mounted rigidly upon a rotatablehorizontal shaft e, the opposite ends of which project outward throughcentral openings in the respective sides of the wheel and are journaledin the hangers f, depending from the upper bars of hanger-frames g,which are bolted to the top of frame a. Extending out through thecentral opening in each side plaie cis the discharge-tube h,which hasopenings i formed in it at one side to receive the Water from the innerends of the scoops, as in my former The tubes h are mountedstationpatent.

arily, their respective inner ends being supported close to therespective sides of the central hub j and their outer ends beingrespectively supported by metallic bandsv 7e, Whose ends are spreadoutward from the tube and bolted rigidly to the vertical posts of thehanger-frame g. A

Upon each side plate ofthe Wheel is rigidly 6o bolted a ring Z, whichsurrounds the tube h and is provided with an outward-projecting annularflange m, which is supported by a 'pair of rollers n, journaled in a box0, mounted on the main frame. The rollers 'n are sup- 65 ported oneither side of the verticaieenter of the Wheel, and their shafts areparallel with the shaft e. lt will be observed that with this manner ofsupporting the Wheel most of the Weight of the wheel and the water being7o elevated Will be borne by the ianges m and rollers n, therebyrelieving the central shaftJ of most of the strain and enabling it to bemade verylight in construction. Thus employing a light shaft, whichperforms in `reality but little more than a centering device, enables meto employ light hangers and to suspend 'them from a bar above the mouthof the discharge-tube, thereby avoiding the necessity of extending asupporting-bar across 8o the mouth of the discharge-tube and therebyobstructing it'.y

The discharge-spout p at each side is supported within the hanger-frameg, its inner end engaging under the iiange m. Any suitable mechanism maybe employed to rotate the wheel, though I prefer the devices shown,which consist of an internal gear or rack q, bolted to one of the sideplates c and adapted to be driven by a pinion carried by the short 9oshaft 1', journaled in suitable pedestals mounted rigidly on the frame.

I have described and shown my improvements applied to a double Wheeladapted tg discharge at both sides simultaneously; but

Having thus fully described my invention, roo

what l claim isy V In a water-elevating apparatus, the combination of amain frame, a wheel provided With Water-elevating scoops and an openingin one side, a Shaft extending Centrally through the wheel and a supportfor each end of this shaft, the one of supports which isl adjacent theopening in the Wheel side consisting of a hanger-frame mounted on themain frame and carrying a hanger depending to a point coincident withthe Center of the wheel and engaging the adjacent end of the shaft, astationary tube in the Wheel and supported at its inner end upon theshaft and extending ont through said opening in the side of the Wheel,means for supporting the outer end of

